The Entrepreneur's Guide...

I have always referred to our “bag business” as an “adventure,” my retirement adventure. 

And it has been, with all its ups and downs, a great adventure. I love to learn new things and everything about putting this business together has been a learning experience. When we started I didn’t have the first clue about what to do or, where to go to figure out what to do etc. Out best resource, which Eve stumbled upon by accident, was the book The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing by Kathleen Fasanella. 

It was a godsend. 

It literally walked us through the entire process, from manufacturing to pattern makers to contract sewers. Although primarily focused on the manufacturing of garments, it gave us the language we did not have, to understand and be understood in this field. Thank you many times over Kathleen Fasanella. 

Since we started we have been laying the foundation, finding suppliers, talking to distributors, meeting with manufacturers, this has all been the foundation. Now we are just moments away from placing our first order and once we do, this adventure, this business, for me, becomes real. Kind of exciting, and kind of scary. 

Will it work? Will people buy our bags? What will happen? 

Up to now it kind of felt like a game, let’s learn all we can about putting a bag business together. But once we place the order it’s no longer a game, it’s real. Is this really what I want to do???????

Onward Fabric Shoppers!

Well, I got over last week’s bumps in the road.

The bank now recognizes our DBA and I have found a couple of more possible fabric suppliers. So what did I learn from last week’s difficulties? Sometimes, rather than continuing to hit the bumps in an attempt to get over them, the best thing is to step back, retreat to that place that is comfortable, and immerse yourself into what feels good. The problems remain, but getting away from them for a while allows you to re-energize and rethink the problem. Perhaps gaining a new perspective.

So I’m now back to the business of bags.

This week it’s following up on the fabric suppliers, discussing what we liked and did not like about the sample bags the manufacturers sent, and picking out material. This is the part I like best. My only dilemma here is choosing a few fabric designs out of hundreds. What a dilemma!

One of those weeks

It has been one of those weeks. You know, the kind where you are rolling along, everything is going smooth, and then Bam, you hit a major bump in the road that throws you off course. Nothing seemed to go right. A lot of the information I received at the trade show proved to be inaccurate. I called about a trillion, okay 4 or 5, fabric suppliers, who assured me at the trade show that getting the fabric I wanted would be no problem, has now indicated to me that it is impossible to get the material I want. UGH! Now I’m back to square one, or possibly it’s two, but anyway, I’m back toward the beginning looking for the fabric I need.

Then I go to the bank to do a name change, actually it’s a DBA (doing business as), change. I carry all my legal documents from the state indicating I have filed for the change, but the bank won’t accept them. Evidently the state made some changes in the forms they use and the ones I have (the new forms I think)the bank does not recognize. Ugh! Again! So now I have to go back to the state and request a form indicating they have changed forms and the one I have is accurate.

My daughter finally got the credit card machine we ordered, so she could start selling some of the bags at the studio she teaches at. She tested the machine, using her credit card and what do you know? It took the money from her account, that shows up, but where did the money go? It has not shown up in our account. Could this have something to do with the d…… name change? Of course the credit card machine is in our new name (the one I legally changed with the state) and the one the bank has yet to recognize. Ugh! Again!

Of course none of these problems are insurmountable, just bumps in the road right? I think I will close up my computer, shut off the phone and go back to making fish for a while. It’s bound to be better next week, right?

Into the Land of Oz

I thought that the perhaps I should go back to the beginning and share with everyone how this amazing “bag” adventure began.

It stated with a phone call from my daughter. She asked if I could make a tote bag for her. She shared what her needs were and asked if I could begin working on something. She was planning to visit in a few weeks so I thought I could come up with a bag or two and be done with it. However, once she arrived the bags began to multiply, each one morphing into something else. By the end of a few weeks I had about twenty bags of different heights, colors, styles, and designs - one with this do-dad and one with that do-dad. She held informal focus groups with her friends, asking for suggestions, comments and ideas, and the bags continued to grow.

Finally, after a month or two (when was she going home??), we came up with her bag, THE BAG.

So, what was I to do with all the other bags littering my sewing room floor? She took some of them to her friend’s studio here in Helena and she took some back to Denver. My hope was that they could sell some and I could recoup some of the expenses of making them. I took the remaining to Farmer’s Market, again, homing to recovery some of my investment. I thought that we were done, we would all try to sell what I had made, if not they were going to make great Christmas gifts, and we would all go on our merry way.

WRONG!

The response to the bags was so overwhelmingly great that Eve asked for more. The ones in Helena were selling, and the ones in Denver were selling. And everyone who saw them came up with  more and more uses for them. So, in response to the growing demand for our bags, we decided to find a manufacturer and have them made up.

Next stop, the Land of Oz.

Photo (C) Turner Entertainment Inc. All Rights reserved

The Trade Show

by Ronnie Whitaker

The Trade Show, how can I adequately describe my experience of my first Trade Show? 

Perhaps I should start with feelings, being a social worker and all. Overwhelmed would top the list. For a fabric lover, walking into a convention room full of fabric was over-powering. Everywhere I looked was fabric. Colorful, bright,gorgeous fabric. I wanted to touch and feel everything in the room. Where should I start? With so many vendors, where to go, what do I ask? How do I begin? 

Gee, I wish this wasn't my first show. 

Confusion and insecurity set in. 

I wanted to come across as a success business woman, but my knowledge of the fabric industry was limited. This wasn't like going into your local, friendly quilting store and asking for assistance. These people were intense, focused, and far more interested in selling than talking. After walking the aisle several times, scoping out the vendors who looked like the ones I needed to visit with, I found someone who was not busy with another customer and charged in. 

Actually, once I got started it wasn't so bad. I ended up visiting with many wonderful and helpful people. One gentleman even offered to help me locate other resources when he did not have what I needed. Overall it was a good experience and I met many wonderful people. This first show wasn't as productive as I would have liked, but a good learning experience..

A company in motion!

So, Pat and Ronnie are back from Las Vegas (the above picture is not from there). They didn't lose much at the gambling tables but they didn't gain too much knowledge either - they were there for a tradeshow, hoping to get the scoop on who could make what or provide the goods (materials) that we need.

The photo is, incidentally, from somewhere near Bristol, England, where I (Justin) am studying. Tomorrow I'm off to NYC for a conference and then to Penn State and Ithaca to see some academic friends before coming back to England for more studies. Eve, our marketing guru (guru is Sanskrit, the language of yoga, don'cha know?) has been in Texas and may even bump into me in NYC as she racks up some sky miles of her own.

Yet, even though we're on the move, we're still a family rooted in the Rockies. And the consensus is: we'd rather be home. Especially when it means we're all together. Because that means cards.

But alas, that'll have to wait until around Christmas. 'Till then, more travels, more adventures in starting this wonderful new business.

Introducing Penny!

A beautiful puppy and current Rowve mascot, here and on twitter. Penny joined the Whitaker family as a puppy in the spring of 2011. She enjoys long walks, fetch, chewing on things, and laying in the grass. She's brilliant and is currently going through obedience training with Pat (which we all know means that Pat is the one being trained). She's already a wonderful household family member, a hunting dog in training, and quite likely to be a Rowve bag model...